Business Tips Corner - - How to Make Your Home Office Child-Friendly

Business Tips Corner!

By: Dr. Cheryl Cottle

Be sure to drop in every week on a Thursday to view tips that would help you in your journey to successful entrepreneurship.

This week's tips are about how to make your home-based office child-friendly! 

With my own grand-son at the stage where he wants to get into everything, my daughter was realizing how important it is to go-child-friendly when you work from home to secure your child’s safety. These are some of the things that we felt are needed in the office.

• Ensure that your file and computer information is safe. Your toddler is at the stage where he or she is curious about everything. He or she can accidently touch your keyboard and make your files disappear. This would take some time to fix and may also cost you if you are unable to fix the problem yourself.
• Keep all your office supplies securely stored away from the reach of your child or children. Your toddler is at the stage where they put everything in their mouth.
• Make sure that all cupboards or storage systems are sturdy to prevent them from falling. Make sure that your cupboards doors are closed at all times.
• Last but not least, make sure all electrical outlets are secured. Stoppers can be used to plug electrical outlets, also make sure that computer and printer cords are secured and not left hanging.
• If possible you can have your child outside your work space, it would certainly prevent any mishaps.

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Author:
Dr. Cheryl Cottle is the Chief Consultant of Cottle's Professional Consulting. Cottle's Professional Consulting has a multidisciplinary portfolio including education, organizational development, professional development, and business development. Dr. Cottle is also a coach and mentor in areas of professional and business development. Interested in a service, please contact her at: ccottle@drcottle.com

© Copyright 2010 by Dr. Cheryl Cottle and Cottle’s Professional Consulting

Business Tips Corner - - Things to consider when you are choosing a location for your business.

Business Tips Corner!

By: Dr. Cheryl Cottle

Be sure to drop in every week on a Thursday to view tips that would help you in your journey to successful entrepreneurship.

This week's tips are: 

1. First find out whether your type of business is permitted in the area according to zoning laws.
2. Make sure that your business location is accessible to allow your customers and employees easy access.
3. Consider the surrounding community. Can the community support your business? Does it attract your niche market?
4. Carefully choose whether you would have a ground floor location for your business or a second floor. Customers generally find it easiest to just walk in off the street. If you choose a second floor, make sure that you advertise to attract customers to your store.
5. Similarly if you choose to have a location in a Mall, make sure that the Mall also has great access and secure parking facilities.
6. Decide whether you want to be in an area where you don’t have any direct competitors, or decide whether they will provide a great business climate.

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Author:

Dr. Cheryl Cottle is the Chief Consultant of Cottle's Professional Consulting. Cottle's Professional Consulting has a multidisciplinary portfolio including education, organizational development, professional development, and business development. Dr. Cottle is also a coach and mentor in areas of professional and business development. Interested in a service, please contact her at: ccottle@drcottle.com

© Copyright 2010 by Dr. Cheryl Cottle and Cottle’s Professional Consulting

Should Small Businesses with an exclusive product go E-commerce?

By Dr. Cheryl Cottle
Many small businesses that deal exclusively with unique, one-of-a-kind, limited editions are now thinking about whether they should expand their exclusive business by going online. Many wonder if this approach to selling will reduce the value of their product in the eyes of their clients. The answer is no. What going online means is that you are now taking your business to a wider target audience. It means that you are now opening up what you do to others who will get a chance to see what you do, appreciate what you do and buy what you produce. It will also mean that you now have the opportunity to leverage the value of what you do. You now have a larger market; your would-be customers are no longer local but also international.

Going e-commerce does not mean that you are closing your “brick and mortar” store or your home-based store. It means that it is an extension of your business or an enlargement of your marketing plan. E-commerce simply means using a website with a shopping cart to enable your customers the ability to buy online.

 E-commerce provides you with the opportunity to increase your market and take it before an international audience. It creates the opportunity to move from your mini local market to a macro market. However with this type of marketing, there are additional changes that will incur on your production, manufacturing, marketing, customer service, machinery and equipments, computer technology, shipping and handling and other key operational processes within your company. In some cases it will require an additional workforce to manage each operation as you expand.

 Things that you will need in going e-commerce: 

• An e-commerce website will have to be designed and constructed. You can self-design and construct your own website if you have the skills to do so
• Access an outside web designer to translate what you have in mind with sound design techniques to come up with an e-commerce site that meets your needs.
• Register a domain name
• Decide which web hosting company to host your website
• Think about the design features for your website
• Determine which products you will display
• Generate your product description
• Product Photography
• Select a shopping cart
• Establish a merchant account
• Establish policies (including, purchasing, customer services, shipping and handling, etc.)
• Shipping and handling - - which shipping provider will you use to facilitate your customer’s order
• Establish a customer service unit to deal with customer-related issues.

If you require an ecommerce website we can build it for you. For more information on how we can help contact us at: ccottle@drcottle

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Author:
Dr. Cheryl Cottle is the Chief Consultant of Cottle's Professional Consulting. Cottle's Professional Consulting has a multidisciplinary portfolio including education, organizational development, professional development, and business development. Dr. Cottle is also a coach and mentor in areas of professional and business development. Interested in a service, please contact her at: ccottle@drcottle.com


©Copyright 2010 by Dr. Cheryl Cottle and Cottle’s Professional Consulting